Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Cambridge

09/10/2026

During Baby Loss Awareness Week our department will be fundraising for Sands - baby loss charity. The charity operates across the UK: supporting anyone affected by the death of a baby; working in partnership with health professionals to ensure that bereaved parents and families receive the best possible care; and promoting improvements in practice and funding research that could help to reduce the loss of babies’ lives.

Our own Head of Department, Prof Gordon Smith, is one of the SANDS Ambassadors.

Join us to remember babies, raise awareness and support bereaved families during Baby Loss Awareness Week

09/10/2026

It's Baby Loss Awareness Week (9-15 October), a time for everyone in the baby loss community and beyond to come together, to honour and remember our babies, and raise awareness of pregnancy and baby loss.

30/09/2026

The NK2026 conference of the Society for Natural Immunity (SNI) has just come to an end in Monopoli (Italy). Congratulations to Prof Francesco Colucci and collaborators for the success of this meeting attended by ~450 immunologists from 32 countries.

The conference included a remarkable series of events:
-"Women in Science and Technology" with more than 400 local secondary school students;
-"The Woman of Ostuni and Uterine NK Cells", which combined archaeology and modern reproductive biology;
-"NK Cells 2026", focused largely on the highly promising field of CAR-NK cell technologies;
-a "Luminaries Session" with students and immunology legends;
-cultural sessions and activities on the history, art, food and music of Monopoli.

Well done on organising such and exciting an thought-provoking meeting!

The NK2026 meeting will take place in Monopoli, a gem in the heart of Puglia, Italy, by the Adriatic Sea, on 22-25 September 2026

15/09/2026

New Cambridge-led research has identified a potential early warning sign for pregnancy complications, including pre-eclampsia and fetal growth restriction.

Researchers have found that low levels of the protein ISM2 may be linked to an increased risk of developing both conditions, which are among the leading causes of illness and stillbirth during pregnancy.

The team analysed data from more than 400 women who took part in the Pregnancy Outcome Prediction Study (POPS) at the Rosie Hospital. Published in Nature Medicine, the findings could help pave the way for new tests and treatments that identify and prevent pregnancy complications much earlier.

Read more: https://orlo.uk/EsXK3

08/09/2026

Ready for our awareness talk "Own your flow: understanding & navigating uterine fibroids" at the Cambridge Wellness Festival 2026, today at 1.30pm.

04/09/2026

Congratulation to Jacqueline Guettler and Eleanor Ward (Dr Irving Aye's team) who won top awards at the IFPA meeting in Kamakura, Japan. Well done!

01/09/2026

Comment in Science on Prof Gordon Smith's work states "Low levels of a placental ISM2 protein predict preeclampsia and fetal growth restriction and could offer new target for prevention".

Low levels of a placentamade protein predict preeclampsia and fetal growth restriction and could offer new target for prevention

01/09/2026

Congratulations to Prof Gordon Smith's group for their work "Isthmin-2 is a first-trimester predictor of preeclampsia and fetal growth restriction" published today in Nature Medicine.

Through exploration of serum proteomics from pregnancy cohorts, Miao et al. have shown that ISM2 is involved in extravillous trophoblast invasion and that lower levels in early pregnancy may indicate increased risk of preeclampsia and fetal growth restriction.

07/07/2026

July is Fibroids Awareness Month, aiming to raise awareness of this common women's health condition. Around 2 in 3 women will develop at least 1 fibroid at some point in their life. Fibroids are non-cancerous growths that develop in or around the womb (uterus), made up of muscle and fibrous tissue, and vary in size. Complications caused by fibroids can affect pregnancy or cause infertility.

Uterine fibroids symptoms include:

➡heavy periods or painful periods
➡tummy (abdominal) pain
➡lower back pain
➡a frequent need to urinate
➡constipation
➡pain or discomfort during s*x

Seek medical advice if you experience these symproms!

July is Fibroids Awareness Month, aiming to raise awareness of this common women's health condition. Around 2 in 3 women will develop at least 1 fibroid at some point in their life.

Fibroids are non-cancerous growths that develop in or around the womb (uterus). The growths are made up of muscle and fibrous tissue and vary in size. The growths are made up of muscle and fibrous tissue, and vary in size. Many women are unaware they have fibroids because they do not have any symptoms.

Women who do have symptoms (around 1 in 3) may experience:

➡heavy periods or painful periods
➡tummy (abdominal) pain
➡lower back pain
➡a frequent need to urinate
➡constipation
➡pain or discomfort during s*x

In rare cases, further complications caused by fibroids can affect pregnancy or cause infertility. Learn more at the link in our bio or by searching for "NHS Fibroids"

19/06/2026

Warmest congratulations to out collaborator Prof Hilary Critchley (The University of Edinburgh) for being named 'Giant in Obstetrics and Gynecology' by the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology (AJOG). Her work as a physician-scientist "transformed the understanding of menstruation" and we are extremely grateful and proud to work alongside Prof Critchley.

Dr Hilary O.D. Critchley, BSc (Hons), MBChB (Hons), MD, DSc, FRCOG, FMedSci, FRSE, a clinical academic gynecologist, holds a personal chair in reproductive medicine at The University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom, and is an honorary consultant (gynecology) at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. She has...